ICTR calls for life imprisonment of former army officers

Prosecution at the Arusha based, International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), on Wednesday, requested a life imprisonment sentence for each of the four former military officers appearing in a collective trial code-named “Military II”. The former officers are; Gen. Augustin Bizimungu former army chief of staff, and former chief of the gendarmerie Gen. Augustin Ndindiliyimana. Others are; former commander of the reconnaissance battalion, Major François-Xavier Nzuwonemeye and Captain Innocent Sagahutu, who commanded one of the squadrons of the unit. All the four are accused of Genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. While submitting the prosecution’s closing arguments, prosecutor Alphonse Van stated that the four accused played an instrumental role in planning and carrying out killings during the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi. Van further argued that after a meeting chaired by Colonel Theoneste Bagosora, in April 1994 after the downing of the plane carrying former President Juvenal Habyarimana, the four officers had an upper hand in the massacre of former Prime Minister Agathe Uwilingiyimana. Bagosora was the former Director of Cabinet in the defence ministry and de-facto head of the country. The Ivorian born prosecutor also pinned down the former officers for being responsible for the deaths of ten Belgian blue helmets who were guarding Uwilingiyimana, including the death of Joseph Kavaruganda, a former President of the Supreme Court. He supported his life sentence request by further arguing that there was enough evidence submitted by different witnesses the prosecution fielded who include; former UNAMIR commander General Romeo Dallaire. In his testimony, Dallaire said that in his meetings with former military chiefs, Augustin Bizimungu and Augustin Ndindiliyimana, the two officers never at any time showed willingness to stop the massacres against Tutsi civilians. Dallaire added that the two military leaders instead continued arming interahamwe militias and instructing them to kill all Tutsi. The Arusha based UN tribunal last year concluded a similar joint trial code-named “Military I”. It involved Colonel Bagosora, Colonel Anatole Nsengiyumva the former commander of the operational sector of Gisenyi (northern Rwanda and the former commander of the para-commando battalion, Major Aloys Ntabakuze, who were all sentenced to life in prison. Another member of the trial, General Gratien Kabiligi who was a former chief of operations, was acquitted. At the ICTR, a life sentence is generally reserved for those who planned or ordered atrocities or those who participated in the crimes with particular zeal or sadism. Ends

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ICTR calls for life imprisonment of former army officers